Pork from swine fed melamine is safe

A special team of US scientists has concluded that
there is hardly any risk to humans from eating meat from pigs (and poultry) that
ate feed containing melamine and melamine-related compounds.

The conclusion is the result of a risk assessment, carried out in
collaboration with five federal agencies in the USA.

Most
riskyEven in the most risky of situations the exposure was very low. "We
literally found that the dilution is so minute, in fact in some cases you can't
even test and find melamine any more in that product," US agriculture secretary
Mike Johanns said.

The FDA and USDA say some swine and poultry on
farms suspected of receiving the contaminated feed have even tested 'negative'
for the chemicals and have been released for
processing.

DiscoveryThe investigation follows the
discovery that imported pet food ingredients like wheat gluten and rice protein
concentrate from China had been contaminated with melamine.

Scraps of
this contaminated pet food eventually ended up in pig and poultry feed - albeit
in very small amounts.

ConclusionThe overall conclusion of
the risk assessment supports the decision to not recall meat from animals fed
contaminated feed.

The assessment was carried out by the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the
Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, US
Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security and the
Food Safety and Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA).